 Books
A series of books that were a part of my formative years that I loved to read were titled Choose Your Own Adventure. These books challenged the reader to make a decision at different points in time and depending on the choices made, the story would have a different ending.
While attending both undergraduate and graduate school, there was more than enough reading for me. However, after I received my M.S. Degree from Pace, I felt a learning void and began to enjoy reading business books. And, while at Columbia, there were more books to read. Over the last 13 years, I've enjoyed some of those books. Therefore, I am dedicating this section to my book recommendations.
Sincerely,
|
Past Recommendation
The Fifth Discipline
by Peter M. Senge
Average Customer Review: 
I read The Fifth Discipline back in 1999 and it is probably one of the best books I have read in terms of being in-line with my beliefs on continuous learning. The author, Peter Senge, examines five disciplines of a model he calls the "learning organization". These components are: Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Shared Vision, Team Learning, and Mental Models. Although all of the disciplines are interrelated and make up the "learning organization", Senge highlights Systems Thinking as the 5th discipline. Using the The Beer Game as an example, Senge makes a powerful case in regard to the need to think beyond what we see is our own "world" and what we perceive is happening. In-line with systems thinking, I frequently see people who do not realize that the decisions they make often have negative impacts on themselves; they don't see it because they either don't know or don't acknowledge that they are a part of a larger system at work - they lack systems thinking. This may be hard to understand, but Senge's discussion of the Beer Game makes it very clear.
Overall I highly recommend this book although it does not provide quick fixes to organizational problems, it does provide a very good framework (disciplines) that collectively applied can help any organization.
|
|
 Other Recommendations
|